Ten years after his internationally acclaimed photo art collection-turned-coffee table book “Pieces of Jamaica®: The Real Rock Edition,” photographer David I. Muir is releasing a second volume. The 2022 edition of “Pieces of Jamaica®” commemorates Jamaica’s 60th anniversary of independence and will offer a stunning depiction of Jamaican culture, not typically published or celebrated, in a visual narrative of Jamaica’s beauty. The book and associated products will be available for pre-order in April at piecesofjamaica.com, with distribution beginning in the summer.
Photographer and fine artist Sean Henry has joined Muir to capture evocative pictures of the land they love. Both recently completed a project to capture visitor-oriented images for Jamaica Tourist Board campaigns.
The new photo art collection is meant to satisfy the appetites of Jamaicans in the diaspora, fans of the island and residents who revere their home. In “Pieces of Jamaica®,” more than 150 pages of new images will tell a story of the island, her culture, people, landscapes, traditions and more. The book will showcase both familiar and little-known areas that beckon readers abroad to visit and encourage those on the island to explore. Throughout the book, national prose, quotes from Jamaican thought-leaders and influencers, as well as the artists’ own words will be featured.
David I. Muir is an entrepreneur and community leader whose special love for candid, cultural and lifestyle photography is a signature component of his art collections. His photographs have been displayed in exhibitions at home and abroad. In addition, he is an in-demand commercial photographer working from his base in South Florida. As president of Island Syndicate, a multiple-award winning publishing company dedicated to storytelling excellence, Muir is poised to create the quintessential Jamaican photo collection. “I wanted to celebrate Jamaica because of how much I love it,” Muir said. “I wanted to extol the virtues of Jamaica because I had left it, and I wanted other people to know how wonderful Jamaica is. People expressed how much my images connected with them and how special they were. I don’t necessarily see myself as the best photographer, but I certainly feel as though what I share about Jamaica feels like the truth.”
Sean Henry will contribute photos as well as fine art pieces to the printed collection. He is best known for his lifelike illustrations of Jamaican scenery, culture and portraits in watercolor, pastel, ink, charcoal and mixed media. A graduate of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, he founded screen printing and graphics house IYA Limited which he has operated since 1988. “It is important to me to showcase the places that go unseen or ‘un-thought-of’ as beautiful. I also want to showcase my skills as a photographer as I’m mainly known as an artist and painter,” he said. “The fine art pieces that I’ll include will bring a different element to the project. Some of the places we capture, to some, are no longer in their glory days. My watercolor pieces will show the beauty that they still possess today, in another form of art.”
“Pieces of Jamaica®” will be published by Island Syndicate, which David runs with his business partner, Calibe Thompson. The creative services agency brings storytelling excellence to photography, video and print publishing projects for discerning clients in the US, and is now working with clients in the Caribbean.
Select featured images from the 2022 edition of “Pieces of Jamaica®” will also be available in paper and canvas prints, and on commemorative memorabilia like notebooks, apparel and backpacks. Interested fans of the project can join the mailing list for updates and learn more about the book, merchandise, upcoming events and sponsorship opportunities at piecesofjamaica.com.
